I'm looking into possibly shipping plants from the U.S. In particular Camellia Forest Nursery in N.C. will ship to Canada and arrange for a phytosanitary certificate. Has anyone gone this route? Comments? Thanks!
Have imported from US, the package can get take some days to get through Customs and checked by Ag Canada it seems. Seemed to take about 14 days when sent mid September from Missouri, arrived at Post Office here in good shape. The slowest was a package that was handled by a broker, DHL, where the supplier used the broker for some reason. Ran into 2nd language, {by the employee}, problems, payment problems,additional fees, phone calls to Quebec, etc. The brokerage firm also had opened an account for which I later received bills for importations i had not made, and required more phone calls to Quebec. Was a mess. Customs, Ag Canada, and Canada Post gets very busy in November and December which could delay arrival considerably. Could be some inspection fees. Might check requirements with Agriculture Canada, some plants are not allowed into Canada. Not sure if you can get a "tracking number" to follow package from supplier. Have no experience with the supplier mentioned.
Yes, I'm more worried about gov't red tape than the supplier. (They have 100% positive feedback from Dave's Garden forum members & also was very prompt with email info.) It seems some suppliers won't even ship up to OR & WA, nevermind Canada. In this case, the phyto certificate alone will cost $50 per shipment. Camellia Forest will ship bareroot for this time of the year (I'm very keen on acquiring calycanthus 'Venus') and I worry if a plant will suffer being stuck somewhere for 2 weeks? I just wonder if all the expense and expectations will end in disappointment. Thanks again for the info.
Not up on US Agriculture requirements, but seem to remember some US states do not allow importation of plants from other states. Would expect delivery may take longer than 2 weeks now, since Customs regulations may be stricter in recent years. Maybe someone has had more recent experiences on importation in the last 2 or 3 years and can share. Seem to remember seeing calycanthus in the Shop in the Garden at UBC , but likely not that cultivar. Suppose you've already searched for any local source.
There are a few steps you have to go through to import plants into Canada from the U.S...the phyto certificate is only one part, you also need to obtain an import permit from the CFIA, at a cost of $35. Check their website, as there are a number of plants that are prohibited, and others that must come from an approved facility. Arriving at the border, if you do not have a broker you must present your paperwork to the Ag. inspector, and have them inspect your shipment for approval. Not sure how it works by mail, but you would still require the import permit.
Is the import permit for all US plants something recent in the last few years ? Wasn't required 3-4 years ago for all plants, although necessary for importing from other than mainland US countries. Was also some concern about importing from US areas where Sudden Oak Death was a problem. Receiving plants through the mail seemed to be the most straightforward a few years ago, although it seemed to take a while for Customs and Ag Canada to do inspections sometimes. Maybe understaffed at the time or an extra heavy workload. Paperwork, including phyto, was attached to outside of package by supplier. Not up to date here, maybe things have changed.
If your plant does not require an import permit, your best bet would be to have it shipped to the US side of the border, you can use the quickest mailing there is and it's easy to bring through Customs yourself WITH the phyto cert.
Might need an Ag Canada inspector at the border to check it though. If picking up on US side, 264th crossing used to work, but Ag Canada staff was only there certain days and hours. Got some plants from New Zealand through Canada Customs and broker , but Ag Canada had to send an inspector to residence to check them out before they were planted, cost $75.00. Wasn't aware of the requirement and don't know what would have happened if the plants were already planted, as it was they were still in the coffins as shipped .Worth doing the homework first, maybe phoning Ag Canada, think there may be an office in New West, they're helpful. Probably best to be specific, Latin botanical name, when talking with the staff.
Yes, I think I'd best contact Canada Customs before investing in a potentially frustrating enterprise. I've been to the garden show in Seattle a couple of times, and they had a customs counter on site for Canadians. I remember there was a list the customs staff checked to see if the particular plant was prohibited. Funny thing was, at the border, the guards didn't even want to look at my papers. It seems every time I find an interesting new plant, it's only available in the U.S. So close but yet so far!
Think the people at Seattle are Washington State Dept. of Agriculture, not US Customs. Same with Agriculture Canada is a separate department than Canada Customs. Might be easiest to order from a local retail nursery that orders some plants in from US suppliers, for spring arrival.
Just an update on this subject for those who might be considering this route... I finally decided to go for it and ordered a bunch of plants from Camellia Forest, all fragrant plants that I haven't been able to find locally. I must say, the process was much easier than I thought - simply paid $50 for the phyto certificate (inspection all arranged by the nursery) and the plants, all fine specimens arrived in great shape. They managed to pack a lot of plant material into the box (I ordered more since it's just 1 certificate per order), and the shipping charges were surprisingly low. I highly recommend this nursery, and I am so pleased with my beautiful plants.
I too am interested in the Calycanthus 'Venus'. 1) I have read on this site that the one at UBC, 'Hartlage Wine', gets black slime when it blooms during rain. Daniel Mosquin thinks this is due to it being in full sun. What has been your experience? How much shade does your plant get? 2) I want a fragrant plant, I have read conflicting information regarding fragrant Calycanthus and so is your plant fragrant?
I planted my 'Venus' in the sunniest corner of the garden, basically sun all day. Although I amended the planting hole with a bit of compost, the soil in the area is fairly lean and often quite dry. Nevertheless, the plant did quite well the first year and gave me a few blooms. While very pretty, I must admit fragrance was not outstanding but I'm giving it a chance to grow and produce more flowers. The flowers were large, showed no trace of slime and have a nice long shelf life on the plant. I'm ordering some stuff from Greer's this spring. So far, the process has been smooth and I'm eager to see the plants.
Thank you for replying. Sounds hopeful. You mentioned earlier in this thread that you bought all fragrant plants from Camellia Forest, what were those plants? I am also interested in fragrant plants....
Plants were: - camellia 'Scented Snow' (*had 1 flower this winter but it froze so couldn't really judge scent) - camellia 'High Fragrance' (unfortunately did not recover from being buried in snow for months last winter) - camellia 'Spring Mist' (very pretty & delicate plant. Some buds showing a bit of pink so hope to enjoy soon) - Lonicera purpusii (doing well and leafing out again but no flowers yet) - osmanthus fragrans auranticus (leafing out nicely, no flowers yet) - pittosporum tobira 'Korean' (the only plant I worried about re hardiness, but has held up nicely. No flowers yet) -rhododendron 'Snowbird' (flowered right away - delicious! Clean fresh sweet fragrance) My Greer's order will include rhododendron loderi 'Venus' - I am determined to find room in my very packed garden for it! I must mention I planted a daphne odora 'Zuiko Nishiki' last fall (to replace a 10-yr old odora also lost to last winter's snowfall) and it is fantastic. The leaves are greener, larger and untouched by winter cold. Granted, it was so mild this winter, but another odora is showing a lot more winter damage. Blooming already and scent is heavenly.
